Dog Ordinance in Dodge County a 'Necessity' According to Some

A pitbull in a Dodge County neighborhood just outside of Eastman has some people scared to leave their homes, but they say there isn't much they can do about it.

The reason, Dodge County has no dog ordinance.

"I don't care if you're 6 years old or 16, when a dog jumps you, you're gone," says Judy Williamson.

Williamson says her favorite thing to do is sit on her back porch and watch the animals, but she says ever since a neighbor's pitbull chased her into her house, she is too scared to enjoy her own backyard.

"I feel unsafe. I can't go get the mail," she says. Douglas Holder lives next door to the pitbull's owner and says his wife is scared to leave the house.

"She's even afraid to stop and get out of the car and get the mail in the evenings when she comes home," he says.

Some of the neighbors say the pitbull has been running up and down Maple Drive, chasing cars and growling at people.

One neighbor says that his lab actually stepped in and fought the pitbull to keep it from getting his 16-year-old son.

"He fought him hard. He got a couple spots, ya know, one there and one on the side of his face and his nose is a little skinned, but he came through in a pinch. And he put that dog in his place," says Donald Jones.

But Jones says they need to count on more than just his dog, Chief, to keep them safe.

Captain Tony Winborn with the Dodge County Sheriff's Office says they get about two to three dozen dog complaints a month, but he says officers' hands are tied.

"The sheriff's office has yet to receive a signed copy of the ordinance for us to enforce," says Winborn.

If the ordinance is approved, officers could seize threatening pets if the owners don't control them.

But until the ordinance is law, all neighbors can do is wait.

"We need a regulation. We need some kind of ruling done. And we don't need to wait another month, another year, another day actually," says Williamson.

Captain Winborn says the County Commissioners Office is working on an ordinance, but he does not know when it will be finished.

He encourages people to attend the County Commissioners meeting and request the issue be put on the agenda.

To be fair and balanced, we tried to reach the Commissioners for comment today but we were told they were in a meeting, and unavailable.